CANADA FX DEBT-C$ flat vs weaker U.S dollar, GDP data eyed

Reuters Staff

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* Canadian dollar at C$1.2714, or 78.66 U.S. cents
* Loonie gains 0.4 percent against greenback over week
* Bond prices mixed across flatter maturity curve
By Alastair Sharp
TORONTO, Nov 24 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar was little
changed against a broadly weaker U.S. currency on Friday and
gained 0.4 percent against the greenback on the week, but could
face pressure next week if tepid retail sales data is any
indication of broader economic health.
The currency appeared to shrug off a sharp miss on September
retail sales data released on Thursday, but worries about the
domestic economy's health could also have been masked by oil
price gains, a lack of liquidity over the U.S. Thanksgiving Day
holiday on Thursday and a broader greenback fall, an analyst
said.
"Retail sales was awful, and the Canadian dollar is only a
tiny bit lower than where it was beforehand," said Adam Button,
currency analyst at ForexLive in Montreal. "That either speaks
to the resilience of the currency or a lack of interest in the
market, but the Bank of Canada is certainly paying attention."
He said the next big test for the currency will come at the
end of the next week, when gross domestic product data for the
third quarter and monthly employment numbers are due.
Economists are expecting the Canadian economy to have grown
1.6 percent in the third quarter, according to a Reuters poll.
At 4 p.m. (2100 GMT), the Canadian dollar was
trading at C$1.2714 to the greenback, or 78.66 U.S. cents,
essentially unchanged from Thursday's close.
The Canadian dollar was lower against the euro and British
pound but gained against the Japanese yen.
It gained 0.4 percent this week against the currency of the
United States, its primary trading partner.
The currency's strongest level of the session was C$1.2694,
while its weakest level was C$1.2747.
Prices for oil, a major Canadian export, hit a two-year high
as the shutdown of a pipeline between Canada and the United
States hit supply.
U.S. crude prices were up 1.6 percent at $58.97 a
barrel, while Brent crude added 0.3 percent to $63.73.
Canadian government bond prices were mixed across a flatter
yield curve, with the two-year price down half a
Canadian cent to yield 1.440 percent and the benchmark 10-year
up 4 Canadian cents to yield 1.889 percent.
(Reporting by Alastair Sharp; Editing by Phil Berlowitz and
Jonathan Oatis)